Redbox Bowl: Illinois Vs. California Betting Line & Pick 2019

2019 Redbox Bowl Betting Preview

If you used any word to describe the California Golden Bears and the Illinois Fighting Illini, “streaky” is certainly it. I’m not sure that any other bowl game features two teams where both had winning and losing streaks of four games or more.

Illinois ended the regular season with two straight losses to Iowa and Northwestern. While California finished with two consecutive wins on the road against UCLA and Stanford.

Illinois Vs. California: Redbox Bowl Betting Line

MyBookie.ag has California as a seven-point favorite, with the total set at 43. This line has moved a lot since it opened with California -4 and over/under of 44. A vast majority of the public is betting on the Bears at an implied probability of 72.6% to win outright.

Redbox Bowl Odds

Illini Trying To Recapture Mid-Season Magic

Illinois looked like it was headed to another December where it could focus on finals instead of a bowl game. After beating two terrible teams in Akron and Connecticut, things went south fast. This is where the four-game losing streak came in. They lost at home to Eastern Michigan and Nebraska, followed by a loss at Minnesota, then another home loss to Michigan.

With a home game coming up against a ranked and unbeaten Wisconsin team, it was looking bleak. Illinois would then would pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year, topping Wisconsin, 24-23.

Win-Lose Season – First Bowl Since 2014

After the big win at home, the Illini would then defeat Purdue and Rutgers. Followed by a win over Michigan State 37-34 after being down 28-3 at one point.

The season would then end with two losses against Iowa and Northwestern. A 6-6 finish and a 4-5 conference record is a huge upgrade for Illinois. The Illini haven’t been to a bowl since 2014 when they played in the Heart of Dallas Bowl against Louisiana Tech, which they lost 35-18.

Offense Should Be Healthy For This Bowl

Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters should be able to return after missing the last game with a concussion. Peters has thrown for 1,611 yards on 130 of 238 with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Reggie Corbin is the team’s leading rusher with 634 yards on 129 carries with six touchdowns.

Dre Brown will also get a lot of carries as he has 545 yards on 102 carries with five touchdowns. Josh Imatorbhebhe is the team’s leading receiver with 33 catches for 634 yards with nine touchdowns.

Defense Is Their Greatest Weakness

The Illini defense allows 409.6 yards per game, with over 200 of them coming on the ground. They do hold their opponents to 25.4 points a game despite all the yardage.

Oluwole Betiku Jr. leads the team with eight of the team’s 22 sacks. Sydney Brown and Dele Harding each have three interceptions to lead the team.

Bears Look To Keep Strong Finish Going

After its four-game losing streak, California ended up winning three of its last four over UCLA, Stanford, and Washington State. While a 7-5 finish is nothing to be ashamed of, after a 4-0 start, California thought it might be in for a tremendous season.

The Bears defeated a ranked Washington team and a good Ole Miss team in those first four. But, they followed that with a four-game losing streak against Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, and Utah.

California is hoping to avenge last year’s 10-7 overtime bowl loss to TCU in the Cheez-It Bowl.

Offense Looks Solid, Defense Not So Much

Chase Gabbers has thrown for 1,500 yards on 109 of 184 passing with ten touchdowns and three interceptions. The top receiver for Cal is Nikko Remigio, with 34 catches for 477 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Christopher Brown Jr. leads the team with 794 yards on 188 carries with eight touchdowns. He also has three touchdowns receiving with 19 catches for 149 yards.

Defensively the Bears allow 385.5 yards per game. They allow 22.1 points per game. Cameron Goode leads the team with 8.5 sacks, while the team has 34. Cal doesn’t take the ball away much with only seven interceptions on the year.

Our Illinois Vs. California Redbox Bowl Betting Pick

While both of these defenses are very underwhelming, I like Cal’s ability to get to the quarterback. Peters should be back under center, and that will help the Illini offense, but they weren’t exactly lighting the world on fire with him.

Brown Jr. should have a big day against a suspect Illinois run defense, and that will be the difference. The only other suggestion we have is to wait and see if you can get the line to move back to 6.5 after some people bet Illinois back down. But in the end, take California -7 win against the spread.

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